Vauxhall Astra Review (2009-) - Vauxhall Astra Car Review

For 5 years or more I hav"e been telling anyone who will listen that Vauxhall Astras are as well made as Volkswagen Golfs. But sadly for Vauxhall Britain’s mainstream car buyers appear to fall into two categories: those who just want wheels and don’t care what the badge is and those that want a German brand on their bonnet.

Which means my best efforts have converted zero Golf drivers to Astras. But when the latest, sharper-looking Astra was sitting outside Used Car Expert’s car park an admiring smoker couldn’t help but acknowledge through his cloud of Marlboro Light emissions that this new Astra is something else.

 

Interestingly it was looking inside the car while I closed the car park door that this nicotine addict became interested. The dashboard, which is the same as in the equally impressive Insignia, swoops down into the cabin, brining all the heating, radio and other controls to your finger-tips. It’s not just well made, but stylish. And it’s a surprise, which is why the smoker-who-should-be-working blurted (puffed) out in a confused tone, “is this the new Astra?”

And immediately set off on a walk around the car to check it out. And throughout he gently nodded. I wasn’t saying anything, so either he liked it or the nicotine has given him a remarkably understated twitch.

And the fully-paid up member of Marlboro’s loyalty club was the first person who I felt might just be accepting of my advice that the Astra is as worthy of your money as a Golf. But the good news is, it’s still cheaper than a Golf.

My only hope is that this new model lives up to the same standard the old car reached. Everything in terms of cabin materials and controls and shut lines looks perfect. The seats are comfortable and supportive.

I know the engines are brilliant - powerful, refined, economical – because they are the same. The handling is spot on too; light in town but well weighted on the open road.

 

 

But there were just a few moments – which is why we always try and spend as much time in a test car as we can – when I wondered if there are some teething troubles to fix. The climate control – like one I tried in a Skoda – simply didn’t seem able to cope with a hot day and came on and off intermittently.

The electric hand brake takes ages to come on and you really have to lift and hold the button to get it to register that yes, you do really want the handbrake on. I had the embarrassing situation of flicking it on, leaping from the car, assuming it had worked, only to watch it roll back past a group of highlighly amused drinkers that were standing outside the nearby pub.

Fortunately, as you may know from previous Astra reviews, I had a lot of practise push starting old Astras in the early 90s so I was able to grab the car, stop it rolling, then climb back in and put the brake on properly.

So make sure you give one a thorough test drive before you hand over your money, but do hand over your money – they are worth more than they cost.

There are around 3,000 Astras on the used market that are under 3 years old, but less than 10% are the new shape, where nearly new prices are starting in the high £13,000s.

Surprisingly there are lots of old shape Astras on the market for more than this and these – despite high specs or coupe-cabriolet roofs- should now be regarded as expensive.

This Vauxhall Astra – until the new Ford Focus comes out – is superior to many of the small family car rivals. So you can forget about many of them. The latest Renault Megane is however worth a look and can be £3,000 less than the Astras.

Of course, the benchmark in this sector is still probably the Volkswagen Golf, but 2 year old cars are still going to be £500-£1,000 more than the new shape Astra for a while.